MONROE - As the investigation into Wednesday's fatal shootings continues, police have revealed the ages of the suspect and victims, and the presence of a fourth person inside the mobile home where the first shots were fired.
The man suspected of fatally shooting one man and seriously injuring another man Wednesday evening was fatally shot by police minutes after the first shootings. All three men involved in the shootings were Monroe residents, Monroe Police Department Chief Fred Kelley told The Monroe Times Friday. The deceased suspect was 25, the deceased victim was 40, and the surviving victim is 32.
The names of the victims are being withheld pending notification of their families. Kelley said the family of at least one victim lives outside the country, which adds to the difficulty of contacting them.
At 7:15 p.m. Wednesday police received a report that two people were shot inside a trailer at 720 17th St. In addition to the victims and suspect, another person was inside the residence during the incident, Kelley said.
"We have a witness who was there on the scene," said Kelley, adding the person was acquainted with the three men and was not injured during the incident.
The suspect left on foot and about 20 minutes later, police received a 911 call that a man armed with a handgun and covered in blood was spotted near a residence at 1007 12th St., about eight blocks from the trailer.
Two Green County Sheriff's deputies found him and ordered him to drop his weapon. Instead, the suspect pointed it at the deputies, and they opened fire, authorities said. He was hit and later pronounced dead at Monroe Clinic.
The deputies, whom Green County Sheriff Mark Rohloff described as "veteran officers," have been placed on administrative leave. One is 29 years old and has seven years of experience, Rohloff said, and the other is 28 and has 51/2 years experience. Their names have not been released.
Rohloff said it's standard protocol to put officers involved in on-duty shootings on leave.
The surviving victim was transported by helicopter to University of Wisconsin Hospital Thursday and his condition has reportedly improved. Investigators have been able to interview him as he recovers, Kelley said.
As of Friday, the site of the officer-involved shooting was no longer closed off by law enforcement personnel, Kelley said. The mobile home, meanwhile, remained encased in police tape.
Residents who were displaced by the second shooting, some of whom stayed at motels in Monroe and New Glarus on Wednesday night, have all returned home, said Kelley.
Kelley said his department, which had nearly every officer working late Wednesday and early Thursday, hasn't received any more information about the argument that reportedly led to the first shooting.
"It's an argument. That's what we were told," he said.
Kelley directed questions about the specifics of the shootings, such as where on the suspect's body he was shot, to the Department of Justice, which was called in to assist Wednesday.
Anne Schwartz, a spokeswoman for the DOJ, declined to provide details Friday, citing the ongoing investigation.
Kelley said before Wednesday, there hadn't been a homicide involving a shooting in his 35 years with the department. He said he can't recall a previous instance of a Monroe Police Department officer firing a gun in the line of duty outside of training exercises.
Overall, the community's reaction has been one of surprise - but not shock - Kelley said.
"I want to stress that these things can occur here," he said. "Just because it's a small town doesn't mean they can't happen. You hope they don't but when they do, you deal with them."
Kelley said one silver lining is that the public is not in danger, and the investigation has proceeded relatively quickly and smoothly.
"I'm glad that it's not an open-ended question," he said. "I sense that it's under control. Something happened and police figured out what it was."
The man suspected of fatally shooting one man and seriously injuring another man Wednesday evening was fatally shot by police minutes after the first shootings. All three men involved in the shootings were Monroe residents, Monroe Police Department Chief Fred Kelley told The Monroe Times Friday. The deceased suspect was 25, the deceased victim was 40, and the surviving victim is 32.
The names of the victims are being withheld pending notification of their families. Kelley said the family of at least one victim lives outside the country, which adds to the difficulty of contacting them.
At 7:15 p.m. Wednesday police received a report that two people were shot inside a trailer at 720 17th St. In addition to the victims and suspect, another person was inside the residence during the incident, Kelley said.
"We have a witness who was there on the scene," said Kelley, adding the person was acquainted with the three men and was not injured during the incident.
The suspect left on foot and about 20 minutes later, police received a 911 call that a man armed with a handgun and covered in blood was spotted near a residence at 1007 12th St., about eight blocks from the trailer.
Two Green County Sheriff's deputies found him and ordered him to drop his weapon. Instead, the suspect pointed it at the deputies, and they opened fire, authorities said. He was hit and later pronounced dead at Monroe Clinic.
The deputies, whom Green County Sheriff Mark Rohloff described as "veteran officers," have been placed on administrative leave. One is 29 years old and has seven years of experience, Rohloff said, and the other is 28 and has 51/2 years experience. Their names have not been released.
Rohloff said it's standard protocol to put officers involved in on-duty shootings on leave.
The surviving victim was transported by helicopter to University of Wisconsin Hospital Thursday and his condition has reportedly improved. Investigators have been able to interview him as he recovers, Kelley said.
As of Friday, the site of the officer-involved shooting was no longer closed off by law enforcement personnel, Kelley said. The mobile home, meanwhile, remained encased in police tape.
Residents who were displaced by the second shooting, some of whom stayed at motels in Monroe and New Glarus on Wednesday night, have all returned home, said Kelley.
Kelley said his department, which had nearly every officer working late Wednesday and early Thursday, hasn't received any more information about the argument that reportedly led to the first shooting.
"It's an argument. That's what we were told," he said.
Kelley directed questions about the specifics of the shootings, such as where on the suspect's body he was shot, to the Department of Justice, which was called in to assist Wednesday.
Anne Schwartz, a spokeswoman for the DOJ, declined to provide details Friday, citing the ongoing investigation.
Kelley said before Wednesday, there hadn't been a homicide involving a shooting in his 35 years with the department. He said he can't recall a previous instance of a Monroe Police Department officer firing a gun in the line of duty outside of training exercises.
Overall, the community's reaction has been one of surprise - but not shock - Kelley said.
"I want to stress that these things can occur here," he said. "Just because it's a small town doesn't mean they can't happen. You hope they don't but when they do, you deal with them."
Kelley said one silver lining is that the public is not in danger, and the investigation has proceeded relatively quickly and smoothly.
"I'm glad that it's not an open-ended question," he said. "I sense that it's under control. Something happened and police figured out what it was."